Less Control, More Impact: A New Way to Lead Remote Teams; A Trauma-Informed, People-First Framework for Leading with Trust
“Trust is built in very small moments.” - Brené Brown
Here’s the truth: micromanagement is not leadership. It’s control in disguise - and in virtual workspaces, it’s not just ineffective, it’s harmful.
When leaders default to constant check-ins, time tracking, and monitoring calendars as proof of productivity, we’re not building high-performing teams - we’re signaling that we don’t trust our person
At Charlie Health, I lead a team of six exceptional leaders who support around 300 Integrative Group Facilitators - licensed and certified professionals across experiential, creative arts, and contemplative therapy modalities. These facilitators deliver entirely virtual group therapy to high-acuity youth and adults through our Intensive Outpatient Program. Their work is deeply creative, relational, and life-changing.
Each of our leaders manages a large, complex team and carries tremendous responsibility - and they do it with clarity, compassion, and unwavering commitment. Our outcomes haven’t come from micromanaging. They’ve come from empowering leaders to lead and staying focused on what drive client experience and impact: strong relationships, consistent care, and the quality of the group space itself.
What Doesn’t Work: The Surveillance Trap
Micromanagement in remote work often looks like this:
“Just touching base again” messages all day long
Obsessive tracking of schedules and response times
Conflating busy calendars with actual outcomes
This isn’t leadership. It’s productivity theater. And it drives disengagement, erodes trust, and stifles innovation.
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek
What Works: Autonomy + Accountability
Instead of measuring hours or hovering over calendars, I focus on outcomes - the things that actually matter:
Client Satisfaction (CSAT) scores that reflect the quality of connection and therapeutic alliance in our groups
Audit results that capture group facilitator competence, cohesion, and adherence to Charlie Health protocols - including skills like reflective communication, curriculum delivery, time management, and supporting the development of horizontal cohesion.
Engagement metrics that show whether clients are attending, actively participating, and staying in care
Clinical outcomes like improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms, increased hope and functioning, and a decrease in suicidal ideation
Inspired by Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) principles and rooted in trust, I’ve learned that when you give people autonomy and clear expectations, they don’t take advantage of it - they take ownership.
This isn’t just a management strategy for me - it’s also how I work best. I thrive when I’m trusted to manage my time, energy, and priorities. I lead others the same way.
I’ve seen what happens when team members are empowered to manage their own time, energy, and priorities: they take real initiative, move more efficiently, and bring greater presence to their work.
I’ve also seen the flip side. When we over-focus on project tracking, people can get stuck documenting every move instead of making them. I’ve watched some of my strongest leaders get bogged down in task lists and status updates - spending more time accounting for their progress than actually advancing the work. That’s not where transformation happens. Real impact comes from trust, not surveillance.
Conscious Leadership Means Letting Go of Control
Conscious leadership is about cultivating self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and integrity in how we lead - choosing curiosity over reactivity, and alignment over ego. It asks us to pause and reflect: Am I leading from fear, or from clarity?
When we lead from fear - fear of failure, fear of underperformance, fear of letting go - we tighten our grip. We try to control. But when we lead from trust and vision, we create space for others to rise into their strengths.
That’s how I try to lead every day. Conscious leadership grounds me in reflection, presence, and values-based decision-making. I don’t need to be the loudest voice in the room or the person with all the answers - I need to be the one clearing space for brilliance to emerge.
And, as a self-proclaimed “control freak”, this is a practice that doesn’t come naturally. It gets me out of my default setting and requires ongoing intention and maintenance - but the results are always worth it!
When I first started developing the experiential therapy program at Charlie Health, I had a vision for our curriculum. I was passionate and energized - but I quickly realized I was limiting our potential by trying to be the sole visionary. I wasn’t an expert in every experiential modality. But I had hired people who were.
So I started involving the facilitators themselves in co-creating our curriculum. What emerged was a breathtaking rainbow of creative, powerful virtual experiential sessions - far more diverse, engaging, and healing than anything I could’ve built alone. Letting go of control didn’t diminish the quality - it multiplied it!
At Charlie Health, we talk a lot about trauma-informed care. But trauma-informed leadership is just as essential. Micromanagement mirrors the dynamics of disempowerment and control.
And that’s not how healing happens - for clients, facilitators, or leaders.
What Trust Looks Like in Practice
In my team, trust looks like:
Letting people shape their schedules to match their energy and capacity
Giving feedback that’s clear and compassionate - but not controlling
Creating space for leaders to approach their work in ways that reflect their strengths
And it’s working. When people feel ownership, they perform better. They’re more creative. More accountable. More resilient.
I’ve had team members navigating burnout, illness, family emergencies - and instead of micromanaging their availability, I’ve focused on outcomes. When I trust them to adjust their schedule in ways that honor both their capacity and their commitments, they show up with even more presence and impact.
I also believe deeply in feedback that’s direct without being demeaning. I’ve had hard conversations that led to real growth - not because I delivered the perfect script, but because I led with respect and belief in the person’s potential. Trusting someone enough to be honest - and still believe in them - is a form of care.
And when it comes to special projects or new initiatives, I rarely assign them top-down. I invite people to opt in - based on interest, alignment with their professional goals, and areas they want to grow. That’s where the magic happens.
Final Thought: Let Go of the Calendar. Lead with Clarity.
If you’re managing remote teams and still trying to measure value by availability or presence, here’s my challenge to you:
“The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of a leader is to create an environment where great ideas can happen.” – Simon Sinek
Let go of the illusion of control. Set a vision. Co-create the plan. Then get out of the way and let your people do what they’re capable of.
